April 2011 - cake-offing, gin-guzzling, wine-sipping, dreams of sleeping

[fraktious]

Thread 3!!!

I'm loving the sound of knitted trousers. I haven't been to a Gap for ages, sounds like I must go!

We had a fab day at the Natural History Museum yesterday. We were all knackered, but it was a good knackered. Ds took a lot more interest in the dinosaur exhibits than I thought he would and he also loved the blue whale and the whale skeletons. The restaurant there was great as well, as were the cafe's. A stupid amount was spent in the gift shop as well

Ds went to sleep in his cot with a kentrosauras in one hand and a diplodocus in the other

We've had more nighttime feeds the past few days as well. It had got down to one feed, but it has been two and three. Growth spurts are the bloody pits!

Star, have you tried feeding more frequently in the day? Sometimes if you get more milk into them in the day they don't need so much in the night, well that's the theory!

Give me a rough idea of 24 hours in the life of P and I'll see if I can come up with any ideas for you

Well the rain stayed away for us at the zoo. I'd never been to the zoo before, and TBH I don;t think I'll rush back. I felt sorry for the animals and it was pretty expensive.

I did however really enjoy the penguin parade! B slept through it though! My friends DS is 2.5 and was more interested in the play areas than the animals. And then when we were leaving, he had the tantrum to end all tantrums. He had been so good up til then, but he was shattered. Gave me a bit of a wake up though, B isn't always goign to be cute and giggly! Friend assured me he's not like that all the time!

Then we got home, bathed the boys, dispatched DH for a chinese and cracked open the ! A very good day had by all :)!

Boob hernia seems to have gone, I think it was a milk blister, but it was weird! I'm only expressing once a day now, slowing cutting down. and it hasn't been too bad. B doesn't seem fussed as to whats in his bottle, as long as he gets fed. So if he's happy I'm happy. I'd imagine I'll be able to stop expressing in a couple of weeks, so B will be totally on formula then. I've done the best I can for him, but it's time to call it a day.

Sympathies re bad sleep, hope it improves soon.

Just checking obv stuff;

last feed(s) in the dark & quiet?

maybe don't try winding after last feed as sometimes when they're sleepy they don't seem to need it as much?

same kind of routine every night, eg getting changed in the same place, cot mobile, pjs, sleeping bag, feed in the same place (poss rocking chair?)?

Fizz - does sound like a milk blister. Are you checking the pump is clearing all of the breast and you're not getting engorged? I'm sure you don't want to up the expressing now you're winding down but there must have been 'extra' milk trying to find its way out IYKWIM? Or could just be a weird skin growth over a milk duct? Hope it's cleared now anyway.

Well DD has been a star at night recently but last night was up at 1.45 for a good hour of feed+poo+feed. I know i won't get any sympathy lol but i was taken aback by the poo, she hasn't pooed at night for months!!

After she went back to sleep about 2.45 she then didn't stir until 10am
PIL missed saying bye to her as they wanted to leave early (well FIL gets all twitchy when it's 'leaving day' regardless if he actually has anything to do when he gets home )

Having a v lazy day here, must try and get the laundry mountain down a size or two...

It's a bit of a lazy afternoon here too - DD and DH are napping downstairs and I'm thinking about hoovering the rug up here again before it disappears under a new rug made of my hair.
We've ordered a highchair which should arrive towards the end of the week and we got the pushchair bit out of the loft yesterday - coming up to 6 months is an exciting time isn't it? With introducing solids, pushchair and potentially moving into their own room... We tested out the pushchair yesterday, as I think she was getting bored lying flat in the carry cot. She seemed to enjoy looking around at everything and also tested out it's napping potential (good) :)
How close to 6 months should I be starting weaning? M seems to have some interest in watching us eat and I think she's losing the tongue push reflex as some calpol actually went in her mouth from the spoon the other night :) She's 22 weeks today, do I wait until 24 or 26 weeks?

Star glad the nights have slightly improved over the past few days. P & S must be on the same wavelength as S has improved a bit too. Only 2 feeds last night! I was cheering.

I'm sure you've heard all this before so feel free to ignore me but here's what we started out with as the bedtime routine for S and did exactly the same order every night. Now she's good at settling we have pared it down a bit but to start with it was: quiet time from the last feed to the bedtime feed, lights down, no TV/music, bath, into darkened bedroom, baby massage, book (helps to read exactly the same page each night so they recognise the cue), last feed, rock if not already asleep until deep sleep then into cot. You've probably tried all this though!

Is there some sort of cloth cover I can put over a disposable at night to stop the leakage? I really don't want to change S's nappy at 3am or she wakes up and is a nightmare to get back down again but almost every morning she's soaked through to the bed. Anyone use a bigger size nappy? Wonder if that would hold more wee?

ILTMIMI was your DS terrified by the roaring dinosaur? My DS was ok with the look of it but as soon as it started baring teeth he freaked out, poor thing!

caramello that's precisely the problem we had at 5am! Soaked through despite a wrap on top of a disposable (which claims it'll last 12 hours huggies). It seemed to soak up the back of the nappy & out the top.

Chilli, F's 22 weeks tomorrow and has been in his own room & in the pushchair seat for aaages! He's now sitting up unaided and is positively cooperative in taking his gaviscon from a spoon. But, the doc said to keep him on milk only till he's back to the 75th. Although with BLW it may well be a while after starting till he's actually eating enough food to make a difference.

He really does seem to want to join in meal times. We sit him up at the table with us and give him smallish toys to throw around play with. But he gets frustrated.

Speaking of which. Any ideas for a 5 month old already having tantrums because he can't do what he wants/can't reach a toy/can't get the cat to play with him/isn't allowed to eat the sky remote, etc. etc? He keeps flipping out, I'm trying not to give in or help him too much, trying to encourage him to keep trying to do things himself. But he just flipped out over something unknown, and the only thing that helped was me singing "little green frog" over and over and over again. I'll be so embarrassed if I have to do that out somewhere. I am not a singer!

Bathtime for us now. Any nappy suggestions? I've got all the spare bedding on the airer, so won't be dry till tomorrow earliest!

Hello
Glad to hear some night times are improving though sorry to those with ongoing higher than average sleep deprivation.
M has been up one or two extra times last couple of nights, I think related to the fact she has her first cough/cold. Can't complain though - I thought she'd be much worse overnight with it and is still feeding well.
We hardly ever have night time leaks - just a couple ever and m can be in her night nappy from anything from 12 to 14 hours (sometimes I feel that makes me a terrible mummy but it never bothers her and she never gets nappy rash so can't be too bad I hope). Were using pampers baby dry at the moment.
Am starting to think about weaning in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know if annabel Karmel is worth a read? Am thinking we'll start with purees but very quickly move to finger foods, so a kind of blw/traditional combo...

How does Little Green Frog go Buck? B likes I'd help him with his wine too!!

B has been horrendously sick this afternoon. Could it be from swallowing water at the pool? He was screaming, like in agpny, I've not heard him like that beofre, then puked and seemed fine, if a bit in shock. He's been ok the last few weeks after swimming, so I'm not sure if thats the problem.

I've got Annabel Karmel's Weaning book Ginger. P is only 16 weeks, so still ages before we actually start introducing solids but I wanted to have a flick through in preparation. It looks pretty good to me but obviously haven't put any of it into practice yet.

Big news here is that P went down to sleep at 7ish with a bit of rocking and minimal fuss. I'm expecting her to wake up any minute, so am making the most of the peace and quiet. I'm a bit worried that going to sleep so early will mean that she'll wake about 100 times later on tonight though. We will see...

Thanks for all the bedtime tips. We do have a bedtime routine of sorts (feed, bath, books, feed etc) so will just have to stick with it. I think part of the problem is that DH is a bit obsessed with trying to get her to sleep without being rocked. He can settle her in the cot with shushing and hugging but it definitely takes longer than when we just rock her to sleep.

To be honest, the bad nights stress me out more than the bad bedtimes though. ILTMIMI please can I take you up on your offer to have a look at typical day for P and make some suggestions? About to have tea but will come back later tonight and provide the fascinating details of a day in the life of Miss P!

I've always found the next size up of disposable helps overnight. I think they have more capacity.

It's just a bit of frustration Buck. They seem to find their way eventually. Take the item of annoyance/frustration away and they get over it quite quickly.As you've found, singing often helps when they are in a funk or upset.

He was ok actually Caramello. We had warned him that it moves and roars and luckily we heard it a few times before we saw it, so we explained what it was. Also he's a rather 'outgoing' little thing and quite likes to be frightened. I think he's going to be an adrenaline junkie just like his dad.

I think it's 26 weeks Chilli. But in my non medical opinion, I think that If they look raring to go at about 24 weeks and they have met the milestones (sitting up unaided, no Tongue poke reflex, bringing food to their mouth and keeping it there etc) then go ahead and do it. If nature is allowing them to do it, then their body is most probably ready for it.

I'm loving the sound of the milk blister, but then I am a very sick puppy. There have been a few boil and cyst popping threads on MN lately and I can't get enough of them

X-posts, no problem Star

Ok, Little Green Frog, as taught to me by the library ladies at bounce & rhyme. (actions are compulsory)

"mmm (eyes closed), mmm (tongue out), went the little green frog, one day.

mmm (eyes closed), mmm (tongue out), went the little green frog.

mmm (eyes closed), mmm (tongue out), went the little green frog, one day.

and the frog went mmm (eyes closed), mmm (tongue out), ahhhhhh (mouth wide open).

But we know frogs go na na na na na (waving hands side to side, a bit like jazz hands), na na na na na, na na na na na.

we know frogs go na na na na na (waving hands side to side, a bit like jazz hands), na na na na na, na na na na na.

They don't go mmm (eyes closed), mmm (tongue out), ahhhhhh (mouth wide open)."

I can't liken the tune to anything. Maybe someone else can?

No idea on the puking Fizz, but your logic sounds good.

I know that frog Buck :) for some reason here the frog goes "galumph" which I just find weird, and they don't do the actions, other than the hands. (Hull is a weird end of the road place...)

M likes the Dingle Dangle Scarecrow song, so much that when I start the first line

I know the frog song, DS2 loves the 'ahh' bit especially :)
Can't think of a similar tune to compare it to either.

can't think what i was going to say, going to watch Torchwood & get to bed early :)

I feel like I'm missing out. I've never even heard of the green frog song!

Ok, further to ILTMIMI's offer here goes. This is a typical day for P:

• 6:30am - Wakes and comes into our bed. She's always wide awake and really smiley in the morning - never desperate to feed. 7am - Feeds*. Recently she's stopped taking a big feed at this time. I wonder if this is because she's been feeding so much at night and isn't as hungry?
• 9am - Start rocking her to sleep for a nap. Can take up to 20 mins and usually involves some crying! Tends to sleep for 30 mins, never longer than 45 mins. 10.30am - Feed*. Between 12 - 1pm - usually has some sort of nap, either in the pram, car or cot. Nap tends to only last for 30 mins. 1.30pm - Feed.
• 3.30pm - Nap. Never lasts more than 30 mins. Usually have to take her out in the pram to get her to sleep at this time. Sometime between 4.30 - 5pm - another feed*.
• 6pm - Bath, followed by a story 6.30pm - Feed*
• 7pm - Start trying to get her to bed. She falls asleep anytime between 7-8pm and can need resettling a couple of time. 10.30pm - Dream feed*.
• 10.50pm - Feeds to sleep. Back in cot.

Until recently, this seemed to be working. She'd wake somewhere between 2.30 - 4.30am. I'd feed her and rock her and she'd go back to sleep. Sometimes she'd wake again around 5.30am and I'd feed again.

Recently it's gone to pot though. She's started waking before the dream feed (which she'd never ever ever done) and then sometimes woken nearly every hour at night. Sometimes it is taking an hour to resettle her

Any thoughts on where it's going wrong? Suggestions are welcome from all comers! Do you think I need to cram another feed in somewhere? For info, P rarely seems to want another feed but I would always feed her if she seems hungry. She's a big baby - 90th something percentile and seems to be keeping to her curve.

Epic message. Sorry!

I've spotted you on some of "those" threads ILTMIMI Fab aren't they :o!!

Star - we are in the car and I'm a nit drunk so apologies if I've missed the gist. I think you aren't giving enough daytime feeds, which is resulting in a bad night. It may not be the reason, but it might not be helping.
Today I fed T 5.30, 8amish, 10.30, 11, 1.30,3.45,4,6.30,7.30,9,10.30.
We have been out all day, but that is actually fairly typical for us.

Fizz - you have done amazingly with the expressing, beyond amazing. Please don't have a moment's guilt.

I like drunk Ali :o

I hope you're not driving!

Re: Nappies at night-time, beware of just using the next size up, it doesn't always work, especially if your baby is on the slimmer side, i remember trying it with DS and everything leaked out down the sides of his legs.

I use Pampers Baby Dry for night-time and the Active Fit during the day which seems to work well.

Don't know if I can offer any sage advice about sleeping that hasn't already been mentioned, although this was a godsend with ds. I'd put it on while feeding him and then move him into the cot, and he'd usually settle. Many are the times I found myself waking up in the armchair in his room as i'd nodded off too

Thanks for the little green frog song Buck, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of that one as I am a "bona fide baby bouncing library lady". I'm going to copy and paste it and send it on to my children's librarian. Unfortunately I won't be able to take the baby and toddler sessions when I go back to work as they are on the 2 mornings when I'll be off , but at least I'll be able to take P along to join in if I want too.

JKS What do you think of Torchwood so far? I don't think it compares to the Children of Earth series.

at nit drunk Ali

Oops, spelling etc all over the shop! Meant the feeding was typical, not the being out.

Amazingly, both boys have transferred to bed with no problems, now if only DH would stop snoring.......

GGF - torchwood is a bit rubbish this series I think. Thank goodness for Dr Who!

Yes Ali, we're big Who fans in this house. When I was PG with DS, DH had a countdown clock on his screensaver at work. It wasn't counting down to my due date, oh no, it was for the first episode of the new Who series .(Incidently DS was born on the day the Pompei episode was aired).
Obviously DS is to young to watch, but he already loves playing with daddy's daleks.
Tennant and Tate are my favourite recent pairing but have to admit I am developing a soft spot for Rory, I think it was the Centurion outfit

Morning!

One wakeup (1:10)
Massive right boob: 240ml (8.5oz) pumped!

And long may it continue